


Always Like This

by spiderling (orphan_account)



Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: F/M, Original Character(s), Secret Identity, Teenage Dorks, i'm much better at angst but i want to write something happy so here, i'm so bad at happy stories like, might be slow-burn idk yet???
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 10:41:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11667474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/spiderling
Summary: Michelle liked observing, liked noticing and piecing together and figuring out. People were puzzles and she loved solving them, a hobby often easiest around teenagers, whose emotions were caked on over dark circles and layered thick in their choice of sport and the lilt of their voice and the way they looked when called upon to answer a question. Peter, however, was something entirely new, such a mix of conflicting characteristics and mannerisms that she often worked herself in a circle. She felt the answer hiding in plain sight, but still couldn't find it. She knew his uncle had died months ago, and there was the Stark Internship, but he’d started acting weird before that, hadn’t he? She was almost sure he had.(Michelle finding out about Spider-Man and kind of maybe developing some affectionate feelings toward another human being. Plus: Micelle Jone; Radio Disney Rock Club; Web me up, Scotty; and what happens when you step on a spider)





	1. 1. caught

Peter wasn't special. This Michelle thought as she watched him from her corner of the classroom, his cheek perched on a closed fist, his head blocking half of the video he’d been watching since class started. He sat silent and still, even as Mr. Hanson fed question after question to the class and everyone kept their hands by their sides but she knew Peter knew the answers, she'd heard him discussing this unit at lunch. She leaned over to get a better view of whatever it was that had him so fascinated. Flashes of blue and red filled the screen, then a cityscape, the image shaky and blurry as if recorded while running.

"Michelle?"

She fell back, and almost as if hearing her name had pulled him down to Earth and he hadn't quite stuck the landing, Peter jumped and turned to face her. Without his head in the way, she couldn’t help her curiosity. Her gaze shifted away from the impatient Mr. Hanson and found the video which Peter had forgotten to pause. "Spider-man?" she whispered. Peter's eyes widened and he spun around to slam his laptop shut. The sound echoed into the silent classroom, much louder than it should've been.

"What?" Mr. Hanson asked. By now, most of her classmates had turned to face either her or Peter. Attention bore into her skin.

"I- I don't know the answer," Michelle said.

She danced her eyes over Peter. He had his face cupped in his hands and he sat as precariously as one could at the edge of his seat, as if prepared to flee, the latter of which wasn’t so unusual. She might have thought something of his sitting like that a year ago, back when he was scrawny and studious and always sunk into his chair, but he had changed since then, somehow, without anyone really noticing. One day he was that Peter and the next he was the beginnings of this one, increasingly distracted and jumpy, late to classes and absent from clubs and always the first one out the door when school let out.

Mr. Hanson sighed. "I wasn't asking you a question, Michelle. Your mom called for early dismissal. Dentist appointment. Good to know you're paying attention."

"Oh. Yeah. Right, sorry." She stood up and stuffed her books into her bag, feeling the focus in the room move back onto the teacher as he pressed forward with the lesson. She snuck one last look at Peter and found he had turned to look at her, too, his face unreadable. No, Peter wasn't special. He was just Peter, just your average loser, nothing extraordinary in personality or appearance. But, despite this, something about him enthralled her.  

'You got a crush?' she mouthed at him.

He tilted his head.

'You love Spider-man?'

He rolled his eyes, but she saw the hint of a smile tug at the corner of his lips. He shooed her with the back of his hand. 'Go. Go away.'

She smirked and opened the door with her free hand, stepped into the hall, and through the wire-reinforced window saw him pry open his laptop and click out of the video and two others. “Weirdo,” she muttered, and if she hadn’t known any better she would have thought he heard her, his head twitching in her direction, his eyebrows knitting just as they did whenever she insulted him, a flat, indignant line.


	2. 2. winesburg, ohio

She left her book behind on purpose. Two days had passed since she caught him watching Spider-Man videos during class, and although her curiosity had reached an all-time high on the Peter Parker front, it wasn’t exactly her style to approach him and strike up a conversation.

So she left her copy of _Winesburg, Ohio_ open-mouthed on the lab table. The plan came to her at the last possible second, as she hoisted her bag to her shoulder and saw Peter hanging back to talk to Mr. Cobbwell. He smiled and held up a piece of paper (yet another thing he hadn’t been present to turn in?) and maneuvered over to their teacher’s desk. She looked around. The classroom had emptied out for fifth period. Before she could overthink it, she pulled a pencil from her bag and scribbled her name on the inside cover, pushed the book toward the edge of the table, and darted out before either Peter or Cobbwell could stop her.

“Michelle—“ Peter’s disjointed voice, face hidden by the door of her locker— “You left your book in class.”

She bit back a smile and let out a huff of relief. She’d been worried about getting it back before English tomorrow. Her jacket moved smoothly from behind her pile of textbooks, and she closed the door half-way, just enough to see Peter’s eager-to-please grin, his outstretched hand with her book in tow.

“Thanks, fanboy.” She made sure she was scowling as she took the book back and set it snugly in the depths of her backpack.

“No problem.”

She blinked at him, narrowed her eyes. He didn’t seem to notice. He was focused on the realm just to the left of her head, his whole body tense, one of his hands clenched into a fist. So much for an easy conversation starter. “Peter?” she prompted, trying not to sound too invested.

“Michelle,” he said, snapping immediately back to Earth, his hand unclenching, his shoulders dropping. “Hi, um—I gave you the book?”

Michelle liked observing, liked noticing and piecing together and figuring out. People were puzzles and she loved solving them, a hobby often easiest around teenagers, whose emotions were caked on over dark circles and layered thick in their choice of sport and the lilt of their voice and the way they looked when called upon to answer a question. Peter was a new beast, such a mix of conflicting characteristics and mannerisms that she often worked herself in a circle. She felt the answer right on her tongue, but couldn’t reach it. She knew his uncle had died months ago, and there was the Stark Internship, but he’d started acting weird before that, hadn’t he? She was almost sure he had. “Yeah, dude. You okay?”

“I have to go,” he said, just as she finished her question. He forced a smile a half-second later. “I’m good. Just, you know, the internship. Crazy hours.”

“Right.” Michelle hated to agree with Flash, but she had begun to doubt the credibility of Peter’s claimed Stark internship. Still, it had to be a cover-up for something.

“I’m… just gonna go.” He pointed over his shoulder and started to walk away, then turned around. “By the way, you, uh, you spelled your name wrong on the inside cover. Just thought you might wanna know. Unless your real name is Micelle Jone?”

She looked down to see if he was right. By the time she looked up, saying, “I was rushing,” Peter had already gone. She stood at her locker for another minute or so, watching the doors open and close as people shuffled out into the afternoon air, heading home until tomorrow. Something occurred to her, with a sudden jolt, and she opened her phone to send a quick text to her mother. 

**be home late tonight. going to joe's with decathlon team. want me to bring you a slice?**

 

**Author's Note:**

> ahh hey again. just flexing my writing muscles, trying to learn these characters. hope you enjoyed! feedback is welcome and appreciated always, but not necessary at all


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